The present invention relates to a ribbon cartridge for a printer for enclosing the greater part of an endless inked ribbon. The part of the inked ribbon in the cartridge is packed so that the ribbon is held upright and extends in zigzag manner.
During transporting of a printer, the ribbon in a cartridge is liable to move or shift to one side to be compressed to form a space, and a part of the ribbon may fall into the space. Under such a condition, when the ribbon is fed during printing, the fallen part of the ribbon is folded. The folded portion catches on printing wires, which causes the ribbon to break.
In order to prevent the ribbon from falling or twisting in the ribbon cartridge during transportation of the cartridge, there is provided a movable stopper (sliding guide) in the cartridge. Before the use of the ribbon, the stopper is secured to the cartridge case near an inlet of the ribbon cartridge to form a small space in which the ribbon is compressed zigzag. Therefore, the ribbon is held compressed during the transportation thereof, so that bending or twisting of the ribbon is prevented. At the beginning of the use of the ribbon cartridge attached to the printer, the stopper is released. As the ribbon is drawn out from the cartridge, the stopper is moved to an outlet of the cartridge by the moving ribbon. The stopper is stopped at a position adjacent to the outlet. In such a state, the ribbon is fed from the cartridge.
However, since the space for the ribbon is expanded to loosen the ribbon, the ribbon may bend or twist during the feeding operation. The bending or twisting of the ribbon is corrected by passing the ribbon through a slit formed in the stopper. However, the bent or twisted portion of the ribbon may pass through the slit and be fed out from the outlet without correction.